Happy Spring with a gift

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Signs of Spring! Last fall, we planted garlic bulbs. They started coming up with the little warmup we’ve had in the weather. So exciting! Have to get the chicken wire on the fence soon. The three shrubs in the back seem to have survived the winter, too. I’m a little concerned about one of them, but time will tell.

It was in the low to mid 60s around here, then the bottom fell out and we had snow (again) over the weekend. Saturday morning I woke up to, “Mom, it’s snowing! You have to shovel!” (I actually didn’t. No snow on the driveway or walks.) Yesterday, we had to get out of the house for a little and ended up having noodles and sushi at one of our favorite Japanese spots.

Elsewhere in the STiJ world:

  • Last week, I interviewed for a volunteer position at our city hall. They’re forming a historic preservation commission. We’ll see how this goes.
  • This week is Spring Break for Abby and next week will be Eastman’s. I might not be on top of my blogging game.
  • To further my gardening skills, I’ll be attending a “Make Your Own Composter” class later this week at a local nature center.
  • I have my first Craft Critique article coming out soon, too, and I’m finishing my second article this week. Let’s say I hope it “sticks”!
  • Been making more cards lately. Will post tutorials soon.
  • Lastly, I’m hoping some readers can help. I’ve made a very casual survey about handcrafted gifts. Hopefully it will help me organize some thoughts on opening an online shop. The survey can be forwarded to other people – so please feel free to do so. Go to the link below, answer the questions and participants can win one of two free subscriptions to Midwest Living. Survey is open until this Wednesday, 3-24-10.

Click here to take survey

Cheers,

Julie

Durian candy from the Philippines

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Durian. Ever have it? Heard that it’s an acquired taste. It scares me. I’ve seen it at the Asian grocery stores, and I’ve only seen it being eaten on Food Network. While durian might be a great fruit, the unfortunate part might be its smell, which then I would think affects its taste. Let’s say it smells like feet… at the end of the day… after wearing socks made from synthetic material that doesn’t let your skin breathe. Yeah, right? What would possess someone to try this fruit? But, there are people who eat it. If you can get past the interesting aroma, you are rewarded with a smooth and creamy fruit – I wonder if it’s like avocado in that sense? In Asian cuisine, it’s used in milkshakes, ice cream, cakes and candy. So… hiding the fruit in food masks the smell? Maybe.

I’m not opposed to trying things once, so when my husband’s parents came home with some durian CANDY, I thought, okay, it’s been sugared up and I’m not eating it straight off the tree. It’s a little less scary. Great. I took a small bite out of the already small bite-size piece and let the flavor melt in my mouth a little. Disappointment. Sweetened condensed milk and sugar with durian could not convince me. I could still taste feet-iness. I wanted to like it, really. I even wanted to fake liking it so my husband would try it. Could you imagine, “Hey, honey, this is sooooo delicious. Try it!”

Found some takers for our two bags – My mom, dad and aunt were happy to have a taste of home.

Birthday Favor Ideas

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Birthday parties have always been a fun and memorable event growing up. When we were really young, opening presents and goody/loot bags were the best things ever… I remember getting dot candy on paper strips, the fortune fish you’d hold in your hand that curls up, stickers, tattoos and the plastic trinkets and jewelry that my parents hated so. What a treasure it was to us but was so easily forgotten.

After last year’s Webkinz party at home, we went the other way and hosted a few friends outside and went simple on a take-home gift: One of Abby’s favorite things to eat, dark chocolate. She prefers Scharffen Berger (she’s such a foodie already), but also loves Trader Joe’s dark chocolate. So, we bought a few bars and to dress it up, I took some scrapbook paper and die-cut shapes that coordinated with her favor colors and wrapped the bars. Very simple and cute, just like my kid.

Other thoughtful ideas:

  • Giant, decorated sugar cookie that ties into the party theme (i.e. Butterfly cookies from a local bakery for an outdoor or spring themed party or these cookies)
  • Small cellophane bag of a favorite candy (M&M’s), tied with curling ribbon
  • Thank you cards with a picture of the guest of honor along with friends.
  • Picture CD’s of the party
  • Small bud vases with seasonal flowers

Craft Product Review: Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel

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Been looking at my craft stash lately. Been buying more stamping supplies, too. What fun! Here’s a look at what I’ll be doing for Craft Critique in the next few months.

Update: This article is posting on April 5, 2010 at www.craftcritique.com

Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel (gel medium)

Gel medium is one of the most versatile products you can have in your arsenal of craft tools. It can turn any piece of fabric into a primed canvas for painting. It can also be a great glue for collages or protect pictures and paintings. Mix it with your acrylic paint and you’ve extended its life. I’m sure there are more uses, but being an intermediate non-professional crafter, I like to use it for my painted fabric silhouettes.

I’m comparing the Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel to the Matte Gel, which has been my preferred substrate. Both have the consistency of a smooth, non-sticky, lightweight batter, but Matte Gel (on left) is translucent while the Ultra Matte (on right) is semi-opaque. For my purposes, I needed to thin the Ultra Matte Gel so my printed fabric would show through. However, when the gel medium was fully dry, you could tell that the original color was slightly altered (see fuschia butterfly wing). If keeping the original vibrancy is an issue, I would stick with translucent or transparent gel medium.

For lengthening the life of a mixed color, Ultra Matte Gel is fantastic. Just don’t use too much, otherwise your color will lighten. Remember to do a test spot in any application.

Retails anywhere between $10-$12. Store coupons are useful since these products hardly ever seem to go on sale. I was fortunate to find this in the clearance rack for under $4.00.

Pros:
A little goes a long way
Slow drying and does not yellow
Nice matte finish
Can be thinned with a little water
Easy clean up

Cons:
May be cost prohibitive
Slow drying
May dull or lighten colors

Update: This article will also be posting on the Craft Critique site in the near future.

Disclaimer: I was not paid by Liquitex or Craft Critique for my opinion.

Crispy Milk in Chinatown

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Don’t know about you, but it seems the more we visit a restaurant, any restaurant, the more often we end up ordering the same dishes. This happens a lot when we go for dim sum in Chinatown. Our perennial favorite: Taro Puff, or deep fried taro dumpling (wu kok or o kok). It’s this amazing, little, frazzled-looking potato-esque croquette is on my daughter’s top ten. Maybe top five, she’s sometimes picky and still a kid after all. She likes to take her chopsticks and gives the puff “a hair cut” (her words). “Mom, I like shaving off the crispy.” Then she proceeds to inhale the dumpling and looks for more, sometimes taking her brother’s share.

Fukien fried rice is also very delicious especially on a chilly day. Gravy and rice is such comfort food; there’s a hint of seafood, and a smoky flavor, too. My husband and I just can’t seem to figure out where the char is coming from. We’ll order the popular dishes: siu mai (pork and mushroom dumplings), har gao (shrimp dumplings), steamed buns with barbeque pork and sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf. I’m so happy my kids eat so well when we go.

It’s not a bad thing ordering what you know, but I think we end up missing out on very good or new dishes. On one of our recent trips, we decided to try a dessert that has been tempting us for a while. Written on an 8-1/2″ x 11″ poster hanging on the wall are Chinese characters and the words “Crispy Milk”. How does milk get crispy? Can you really deep fry any thing? Apparently, you can.

I couldn’t imagine what it might have tasted like, but it was warm, lightly sweet, and delicious. It reminded me of a dessert my late Aunt Tess used to make deep frying dough balls made with rice flour and brown sugar, but crispy milk was far more delicate and tender. Just enough texture with a bit of chewiness, and I mean that in a good way. I’d order it again.

Playing with Superhero Action Figures

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The most frequently asked question by the little man in our house nowadays is, “Mom, you wanna play Batman Cave with me?” This is followed by, “You be Robin and I’ll be Batman.” Fun, no doubt. Mentally draining, yes. This is an everyday occurrence too. Imagine how excited he was when we found Superman at the store?

He’ll role play without his action figures. The other day at the mall, he was pretending to be Spiderman, and of course, he was wearing his Marvel comics t-shirt. He’s such a boy, and we love him.

It’s really amazing to see how imaginative he is with his action figures. We’ve played hide-and-seek around the Batcave, given all the characters birthday parties (“But, Mom, they don’t have decorations.” – yes, my child, right?), played good-guys-get-the-bad-guys, and even American Idol. This is with our favorite characters, The Teen Titans:

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